Speechifying

McCain/Palin is in deep trouble.

Obama's speech to the Democratic National Convention (and everyone else on the planet not hiding in their broom closet, quivering in fear of the latest liberal onslaught) was a barn-burning chunk of rhetoric with plenty of substance and plenty of steel. He promised a lot of stuff, and apparently has the actual numbers hiding somewhere in the recesses of his organization to back 'em up. Education, new jobs, new technologies, better infrastructure, lower taxes (but not for everyone, just mostly the working poor and middle class) - the list goes on.

And while I was emotionally sandbagged by the whole thing (not breathing as he was finishing his speech was a good indication of just how involved I got), I look back on the speech - and I still can't find a damn thing wrong with it.

If he can manage to do half what he's promised, folks will look back at the Bush occupation of the White House as some kind of dark nightmare that the country managed to wake from. If he can't, the country is bound for hell, and we only have ourselves to thank for it.

Picking the Chick

Sarah Palin is the current Governor of Alaska. And the selected running mate of John McCain. She has only spent two years running the state of Alaska as Governor, and was only notable before that for being mayor of a town that concerned itself with having enough snow on the ground to run the Iditarod race.

I'm going to say it: John McCain is an old man, much like I will be in twenty-five years. She will be a heartbeat away from the Presidency, with only slightly less experience than George Bush had. She loves guns and the death penalty, hates gays and abortions, and finds polar bears inconvenient. She sued the federal government because the Endangered Species Act prevents oil companies from pursuing their God-given right to pump as much oil out of the ground, and all because of the f$%king polar bears.

So why did they pick her? She's certainly more acceptable to the pro-life contingent. Those Hillary supporters who were supporting Hils just because she's a woman (again, how very, well, female of them) now have someone to rally behind. Someone whose policies (like Sen. McCain's) are 180 degrees off Hillary's positions. But you know, positions - who listens to that? That's just like trying to learn math or something - much too hard. So, for those of you feminist types out there, considering voting for McCain because he picked a (dare I say it) girl to run beside him, you're being irrational, hysterical even. Or, well... dumb as a stump.

Do I feel like the choice of a female running mate (after Sen. Obama notably passed over Hillary for Joe Biden) is a cynical move on the part of the Repugs? Something to energize the ticket in a simplistic and shallow way without any real redeeming consequences?

Uh Huh...

Prisoner of War Honors

While John McCain may be "honorable," because he served my country when that country was at war, well, ummmmm.... OK.

Not anymore. When someone asks you how many homes you have, and you can't answer, you're no longer honorable. If you use your POW status (in a war that was over thirty-three years ago) as an excuse for not knowing how many houses you have, or for feeling guilty over how many houses you know you have, you're no longer honorable.

Being a POW or even just a veteran does not confer instant sainthood. As a citizen who never had to shoot at anyone or be shot at by anyone during wartime, I can tell you that my imagination gives me plenty of opportunities to visualize how horrible it is, and that it should never be entered into lightly. While service to your country is indeed an honorable ideal, war is not honorable. War is ugly, bloody and terrible.

McCain announced "next stop, Baghdad" a mere three months after 9/11. I think even the most war-happy members of the Bush administration weren't pushing Iraq at that point (out loud anyway - I think they started in September - you know, school was starting, Christmas was coming, time to roll out "Baghdad or Bust!"). McCain has suggested new lyrics to the Beach Boys with "Bomb, Bomb Iran."

chuckle

The "maverick" who detests lobbysists has a campaign staff comprised largely of lobbyists. The fella who will stand up to big oil did just that, until they gave him money; suddenly, drilling off the coasts seems like such a good idea. The man who champions anti-corruption in Washington was a member of the Keating Five (the 80s were SO COOL).

To all these criticisms, John McCain has an answer: "I spent five years in that Hanoi pit'o'hell."

To which I respond:

"And....?"

Knowing the attacks that are going to come after our candidate next week at the Repugnican convention, politics has become the least honorable profession. The country is broken in pieces. After eight years of being misled by their emotions, many folks are still voting emotionally. What is with you PUMA people anyway? So you don't get your candidate - them's the breaks. Now you're going to vote for no one, or worse, the opposing ticket, because you didn't get a pony for your birthday?!? How very (dare I say it) feminine of you.

And yet, we have just managed to nominate an African-American candidate for President. Joe Biden is a good running mate to Barack Obama. I would have preferred Bill Richardson, but my wife pointed out to me that we might have a problem electing an "all-brown" ticket, especially when the Repugnicans put up an "all-white" ticket. Question is, will it be an all-Christian ticket, or do we get the Mormon or the Orthodox Jew running alongside the "Old Airedale?"

And if we do, will the Repugnicans vote for someone not of their creed? It's taken a long time for the Democrats to allow a black person to be nominated for the top job. Can the Repugs contain enough "honor" between them to nominate for second-in-command a Mormon? a Jew?

See you next week for the answer...